Scientists create three-dimensional microscopes to find aliens

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are creating a new microscope technology that they hope will determine whether life exists on our planet. This device is called Digital Holographic Microscope and it is designed to find bacteria in space.

According to Thenextweb, the last time NASA actively sought life outside of Earth was with Viking space program in 1976. Since then, there has been no clear consensus in the scientific community about the best way to continue. search. Certainly, we spent time and money searching for water on other planets - because this is the most appropriate place where we can find life. The problem with finding water is not finding it but determining what is in it.

Satellite of Saturn Enceladus.

There is no way to ensure that living things will survive if we bring the specimen back to Earth and there is no way for scientists to use traditional microscopes to test them in space.Digital Holographic Microscope is a solution in this situation. This device shows a new approach to a decade-long problem: instead of using lenses to focus on objects, it uses a laser beam to display 3D motion in polar particles. small. The images will then be analyzed to determine where the objects live and what are the normal objects.

The device has no moving parts and this makes it ideal for space exploration when repairs are not possible. Researchers have a fairly specific goal: one of Saturn's satellites named Enceladus . This moon has a freezing layer on the surface with giant eruptive circuits that vaporize into space, capable of dissolving microorganisms in the universe. The Holographic digital microscope that Caltech is offering will be able to search for life from Enceladus's dust particles.

Scientists have tested devices in the Arctic and plan to experiment in even more extreme environments like Antarctica. Caltech professor Jay Nadeau said: "We are trying to design the microscope's parameters to maximize the ability to see life on Earth. Because if possible maximize the ability. Seeing life in all the harsh environments of the Earth, we can confidently solve this problem on other planets. "

Research done at Caltech is an example of how micro ideas may one day change our big picture perspective on the entire universe.